Israel Historical Society

Israel Historical Society
Name	Israel Historical Society
Founded	1959
Founder	Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Benny Morris
Headquarters	Jerusalem
Region served	Israel
Language	Hebrew language

Israel Historical Society The Israel Historical Society is a scholarly association founded in 1959 to promote the study of Israeli, Jewish, and Middle Eastern history. It brings together historians, archivists, museum professionals, and educators from institutions such as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, Bar-Ilan University, and the University of Haifa, fostering research on topics tied to the Ottoman Empire, British Mandate for Palestine, Zionism, and the State of Israel.

History of the Society

The Society was established in the wake of state-building debates that engaged figures like Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, and scholars influenced by work on the Haskalah, Yishuv, and the historiographical turns after the Six-Day War (1967). Early members included researchers associated with the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the National Library of Israel, and the Israel State Archives, while intellectual currents drew on studies of the Second Temple period, Ottoman Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine, and the emergence of Labor Zionism and Revisionist Zionism. Over decades the Society responded to debates catalyzed by publications such as Benny Morris's archival studies, the New Historians movement, and comparative inquiries alongside historians of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Palestinian national movement, and the Diaspora.

Mission and Objectives

The Society's stated aims align with scholarly missions at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and international bodies like the International Committee of Historical Sciences: to advance historical knowledge through archival research in institutions such as the Central Zionist Archives, Israel State Archives, and municipal archives in Haifa and Jerusalem; to support pedagogy connecting to curricula in the Ministry of Education (Israel); and to encourage comparative studies involving the Ottoman Archives, British National Archives, and university centers at Oxford University, Harvard University, and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Membership and Governance

Membership comprises academics from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Bar-Ilan University, and independent researchers, alongside archivists from the Israel State Archives and curators from the Israel Museum. Governance follows a council model with a president, vice-presidents, and committee chairs drawn from faculty affiliated with chairs named for figures like Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and Theodor Herzl. The Society collaborates with professional bodies such as the Israeli Historical Association of Museums and international partners including the American Historical Association, Royal Historical Society, and the European Association of Jewish Studies.

Publications and Journals

The Society publishes peer-reviewed outlets and edited volumes distributed through academic presses like Hebrew University Magnes Press and Brill. Its flagship periodical features research on topics spanning the Late Antiquity, Crusader States, Mamluk Sultanate, Ottoman Empire, and modern episodes including the 1917 Balfour Declaration, 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Suez Crisis (1956), Yom Kippur War, and the Oslo Accords. Contributors have included scholars linked to projects at Yad Vashem, the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, Mandel Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, and the Middle East Studies Association.

Conferences, Lectures, and Activities

The Society organizes annual conferences, thematic symposia, and lecture series in collaboration with the National Library of Israel, Yad Vashem, the Israel Museum, and university departments at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University. Topics have ranged from the Mishnah and Talmud eras to modern questions like immigration waves (e.g., Aliyah from Ethiopia and the Soviet Union), demographic studies of Palestinian refugees, and analyses of diplomatic episodes including the Camp David Accords and Madrid Conference. The Society hosts joint sessions with the International Association for Media and History and workshops for archival openings at the Central Zionist Archives.

Research Projects and Collaborations

Research initiatives include collaborative projects on municipal histories of Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv; comparative studies of settler movements such as Zionism and other nationalist movements; and archival digitization efforts coordinated with the Israel State Archives, National Library of Israel, and international partners at Oxford University and Columbia University. The Society has supported dissertations and grants addressing subjects from the Ottoman Tanzimat reforms to analyses of the Palestinian National Covenant and post-1967 settlement policies, often partnering with institutes like the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and the Mandel School.

Awards and Recognitions

The Society confers awards and prizes for outstanding monographs, doctoral theses, and lifetime achievement, echoing honors given by the Israel Prize and awards administered by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Laureates have included historians whose work intersects with archives at Yad Vashem, research published by Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press, and interdisciplinary scholarship recognized by bodies such as the European Research Council and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Category:Historical societies Category:Organizations established in 1959